Ever feel like you are on the uphill struggle and can’t win a trick at work, we hear you! It might only be a few little bites of feedback that can leave you feeling overwhelmed and on the back foot. Nobody likes to be criticised but constructive criticism isn’t all bad and it’s important to remember that nobody is perfect, so taking this feedback and working with it can in fact help you and your career. Resolver Recruitment has put together some tips on handling work place criticism in the most professional way possible.
Improve: Imagine if you never got feedback at all neither good nor bad, how would you know if you were on the right track? This is your boss’s way of helping you grow professionally and should be seen as a way to improve your skills, efficiency or way of approaching a task. Your boss has been in your position so they are the most ideal mentor to guide you through ways to improve.
Drop the defence: Naturally you may want to attack back and stand up for yourself, be mindful this can work against you. Don’t take it personally, take all of the feedback on board, step away and digest it over 24/48 hours then come back and talk about your feelings and a solution with your boss. It will be seen as an admirable quality that you acted calm and composed.
Ask questions: Seek more information so you can best understand where this feedback has come from. The only way to understand something truly is to have all of the facts so by asking questions and for specific examples you can best navigate where you may have gone wrong with your actions.
Remember that constructive feedback is the only way you are going to learn about your weaknesses in the workplace and without it you can’t improve or take your career to the next stage. Be gracious, take it on board and work with your manager not against them.